In 193 A.D., Septimius Severus seized Rome and established a new dynasty. The Severans and the Soldier-Emperors (193–284 A.D.) His death ushered in a new period of civil wars. It was Commodus who successfully made peace on the northern frontier, but in the end his misrule and corruption were devastating for the empire. Marcus Aurelius chose his son, Commodus, as his successor, a choice that reverted to dynastic principle. Incessant warfare and the threat of invasion along the northern frontier eventually drained imperial revenues. Upon his death, imperial powers for the first time were fully shared between his adoptive sons Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. Antoninus Pius restored the status of the Senate without compromising his imperial power and quietly furthered the centralization of government. The Antonine dynasty reflects the connections between wealthy provincial and Italian families. 138–161 A.D.), and included those of Marcus Aurelius (r. Under Trajan and Hadrian, new cities were founded and vast building programs initiated.Īntonine rule commenced with the reign of Antoninus Pius (r. Latin literature flourished with the works of influential writers such as Martial, Juvenal, Tacitus, Suetonius, and Pliny the Younger, but at the same time a growing provincial influence was felt in every sphere, especially religion and sculpture. The provinces thrived and local aristocrats spent lavish sums on their cities. Trade and commerce flourished between the Roman empire and its northern and eastern neighbors. His accession ushered in an era of confidence unattested since the reign of Augustus. Under Trajan, along with consolidation of the empire, great efforts were expended on wars of conquest in Dacia and Parthia. He had a distinguished military career before being elevated to the purple by Nerva. Trajan was the first Roman not born in Italy to become emperor his family came from Spain. Successors to the emperor were chosen from men of tried ability and not according to the dynastic principle. It was a time when the distinction between provincials and Romans diminished as a greater number of emperors, senators, citizens, and soldiers came from provincial backgrounds, and Italians no longer dominated the empire. The succeeding period is known as the age of the “Five Good Emperors”: Nerva (r. The Five Good Emperors and the Age of the Antonines Plots and conspiracies, followed by a vicious round of executions, eventually led to his assassination in 96 A.D. In the end, however, Domitian incurred the Senate’s displeasure with his absolutist tendencies and by elevating equestrian officers to positions of power formerly reserved for senators. Artistic talent and technical skill inherited from Nero’s regime were used to aggrandize the military accomplishments of the new imperial dynasty. The Flavians paid particular attention to the provinces, encouraging the spread of Roman citizenship and bestowing colonial status on cities. He restored confidence and prosperity to the empire by founding the Flavian dynasty and securing a peaceful succession for his two sons, Titus (r. 69–79 A.D.) emerged as victor from the carnage of the civil wars. Amid rebellion and civil war, the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an inglorious end with Nero’s suicide in 68 A.D. He also extended the frontiers of the empire, but antagonized the upper class and failed to hold the loyalty of the Roman legions. The succeeding emperor, Nero, was a connoisseur and patron of the arts. Imperial expansion brought about colonization, urbanization, and the extension of Roman citizenship in the provinces. Under Caligula, much time and revenue were devoted to extravagant games and spectacles, while under Claudius, the empire-and especially Italy and Rome itself-benefited from the emperor’s administrative reforms and enthusiasm for public works programs. With its borders secure and a stable central government, the Roman empire enjoyed a period of prosperity, technological advance, great achievements in the arts, and flourishing trade and commerce. Peace and prosperity were maintained in the provinces, and foreign policy, especially under Augustus and Tiberius, relied more on diplomacy than military force. This, however, eventually led to a decline in the power of the Senate and the extension of imperial control through equestrian officers and imperial freedmen. The Julio-Claudians, Roman nobles with an impressive ancestry, maintained Republican ideals and wished to involve the Senate and other Roman aristocrats in the government. 14–37 A.D.), Gaius Germanicus, known as Caligula (r. So began the Roman empire and the principate of the Julio-Claudians: Augustus (r. In 27 B.C., Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus was awarded the honorific title of Augustus by a decree of the Senate.
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